And Then There Were Three

by Renee Lindemann

  “Uh, let’s go where?” I spluttered looking around with confusion.

  “To your house little sister. The folks want to grill Mark and your new girl toy, Nicole.” Elaina laughed not wanting to miss this dramatic event. I shook my head that was unnecessary and they would see both those individuals at the next family event. My mother and father were already in my sister’s car. She was honking the horn by the way. I will never regret breaking her New Edition N.E. Heartbreak album after this, for sure.

  Imagine my shock when I arrived home to find Mark’s parents in our family room and Nicole giving her grandmother, Annabelle, the grand tour of the house. Martin and Abigail Thompson exited the family room to give my parents hugs. I rushed to Mark and he wrapped his arms around me as I whined.

  “So I see we had similar results. Only I have my annoying sister to serve as comic relief.”

  “Aw shit Elaina is here? She already knows about Nicole,” Mark remarked his expression dour.

  “My mom called her but I happily burst her bubble that she knew about this and didn’t tell my mom. Now we have a family intervention in our dining room.”

  “Maybe if we stay in here they can hash this out without us,” Mark said a hopeful gleam in his eye. Mr. Thompson called us both, hopes dashed.

  Seriously, you would think we were teens coming to tell our parents that we were pregnant. Holding hands we walked in with somber expressions on our face. Nicole and her grandmother were still M.I.A.

  “Shut the door behind you. We want to talk to you two alone first,” Abigail informed us. Mark shut the door and we stood with four blazing sets of eyes upon one goofball my sister, and us.

  “What is wrong with your marriage? Have you been contemplating divorce?” Martin initiated the first round of questions.

  “Dad, there is nothing wrong with our marriage. Eva and I have a very strong marriage built on an excellent foundation. We have never in fifteen years contemplated divorce,” Mark answered.

  “Psst, yeah right!” Martin responded absent-mindedly. “Everyone contemplates divorce by year ten.”

  If looks could kill this would have been a funeral-planning meeting, Abigail gave him a death stare that made me hide behind my husband. Martin shrank back in his seat done with his questions.

  “Is this some kind of fad or the in thing to do?” My mother asked next giving my dad a knowing stare that said, “shut up.”

  “No mother this is not a fad or passing fancy. Mark and I truly love Nicole very much.”

  “We know how unusual this relationship sounds and we are sorry to have to spring it on you all but its how we feel.” Mark cleared his throat as he felt the daggers being shot at his face from all sides. I tried to support my husband by speaking up. “Look we tried to resist and trust me we fought our attraction to Nicole. In the end we won because she loves us just as much.”

  “Try harder dammit!” Lynette Abernathy has just entered the building folks.

  “It’s not that easy mom, “ Mark said dropping his head. “We love her too much to let her go. She is apart of this family now.”

  “I blame that reality TV, always trying to show how weird people live. They make kids think it is cool to be an outsider,” Martin finally spoke up again. The older adults all nodded their heads in agreement.

  “I am sure if you just spent some time with Nicole and our family it would be easy to see how amazing she fits into our life.” I chimed in wishing to be done with this intervention. I wanted to get to the six-month update, to see if we had relapsed already.

  “What if this doesn’t work out? That poor girl will go crazy. Who started this mess anyway?” Abigail said shaking her head in disgust. Mark pointed to me and I shot him a dirty traitorous look. I pulled away from him and he laughed grabbing my arm.

  “This isn’t funny, son,” my father finally spoke up. Mark wiped the smile off his face as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “It most certainly is not funny for you dad, you are correct. But for us it is a bit funny. We thought having to tell you four might sway us and make us want to end this relationship. However I can safely speak for us both, that even with your misgivings, we are going to stay with Nicole. Simply put she belongs here with her new family and we love her.” Mark replied as I looked at him lovingly. Nicole burst through the doors reaching for us as we wrapped her up in a welcoming hug. Mark and I kissed her tear stained face as our parents looked on. I did note the dads had a more open mouth expression to the love being displayed in front of them.

  “I love you two so much,” Nicole cried as her grandmother entered the room.

  “We love you too Nicole,” Mark and I cried back in unison.

  Abigail and Lynette directed their attentions to the older still gorgeous lady walking into the room. This woman was not what any of us expected. While well into her seventies, Annabelle Fisher, was a looker. The well-kept woman needed only for a cane to assist with ambulating, other than that she was stunning. Long brown hair, swept into a neat ponytail, accentuated her nearly alabaster skin. A dancer’s body rounded out the woman’s exceptional appearance. My mother closed my dad’s mouth for him.

  “Uh how do you feel about this setup for your granddaughter,” my mother stammered. She tried to avert her eyes and not stare directly at the woman but it was hard. Looking from Nicole to her grandmother as if watching a tennis match struck everyone in the room, except us three of course.

  “I am not too keen on her having the most to loose in this relationship but it’s not my call. I have already kicked up my fair share of dirt. I am not sure what the future holds for this uh relationship but I know my granddaughter will give a thousand percent to its success,” Annabelle elucidated before taking a needed seat. The tour had been lengthy.

  “What about the children? This has to be confusing for them, hell it’s confusing for me. Where will everyone sleep? Oh please do not answer that question,” Mark’s mom, Abigail, questioned as her expression went from curious to ill rapidly.

  “The children have had time to adjust and they are still managing to grow up healthy and happy,” I answered.

  “It wasn’t easy at first and we tried to discontinue the relationship but Sabrina saw how much of a toll it took on our disposition. We were miserable without Nicole.” Mark added for support.

  “I find that when you try to limit someone from doing something it just makes them want to do it even more. I already know my granddaughter has unusual appetites when it comes to relationships and while this remains the strangest setup, who am I to define her happiness? My happiness was defined for me with a noose many years ago. So I never got into the business of telling folks whom they could love, so long as it was between consenting adults,” Annabelle said with a hitch in her voice that indicated years of sadness.

  “My grandfather was hanged for fathering two children with my grandmother during the Jim Crow days,” Nicole explained. The room fell quiet as they thought this over.

  “I understand that must have been tough, but Jim Crow days are over. I need them to end this madness, it doesn’t make sense.” Leave it to Lynette to find a way to get back to the topic at hand. Mark’s cell phone alarm sounded and we immediately went to battle stations. Nicole planted her grandma in the family room, while she picked Junior up from the middle school. Mark opted to pick up Celeste while I headed to the high school to get Sabrina. In a matter of minutes our parents were left in the house as we collected our children.

  Upon our near simultaneous return the grandparent were treated to our family life. The kids did not immediately notice their grandparents hovering in the family room as they issued demands.

  “I want chicken for dinner,” Celeste announced.

  “We had chicken last night,” Junior pointed out. “Nicole, I have a study guide for history class, can you help me go over the questions?”

  Nicole took her place at the dining room table prepared to help Junior. Mark and Sabrina continued to monitor Sabrina’s science pr
oject on moldy bread, taking out the specimens to be photographed. I took Celeste in the kitchen with me while she practiced her spelling words I began to cook. The grandparents rounded the corner to the kitchen with a look of absolute awe on their faces. We totally forgot about their presence as we did what we do almost everyday.

  “Are you kids okay?” My mother questioned as we went about our everyday routine.

  “Grandma!” Celeste shouted upon seeing my mother. She immediately went in for a big hug, her specialty. Eventually the kids were basking in grandparent affections.

  “Why wouldn’t we be okay grandma?” Sabrina asked as she hugged my mother.

  “Well your mom and dad just told us about this situation with uh Nicole. We wanted to make sure you kids weren’t traumatized by this nonsense.” My mother explained sweetly. Junior, Celeste, and Sabrina exchanged looks of confusion.

  “Nicole doesn’t traumatize us grandma. Nicole is nice and my mommy and daddy’s girlfriend. We love Nicole,” Celeste said to her twin, pushing up her glasses.

  “Are you just saying that sweetheart? You know you can tell grandma anything.”

  “I just told you the truth. Grandma I do not tell stories, unless I have to write one for Ms. Piskatelli’s class.”

  My mother blanched at this statement as Celeste searched her face for answers.

  Sabrina threw up her hands and announced, “Look grandparents, you do not have to worry. I learned that we fear what we do not know or understand. Trust us when we say that we are okay with Nicole being apart of our family. Do not worry we will not turn to hard drugs or engage in reckless sex to cope. It is totally okay grandparents.”

  Junior stood nearby shaking his head in agreement, trying hard not to laugh as they both placated the parents.

  “Now am I cooking enough for everyone or do we need to continue to explain ourselves?” I asked reaching for a pack of chicken and a pack of hamburger. I was thinking spaghetti and salad with some chicken on the side for Celeste. The grandparents decided to stay for dinner, including grandma Annabelle.

  I had Nicole help make the large pot of spaghetti. We moved around the kitchen as I explained my simple spaghetti recipe instructions. Nicole cut up green peppers and onions. Mark entered to grab a bottle of wine for the adults. Collecting the wine glasses Mark plied Nicole with tender kisses before sharing the love with me. Our mothers watched on in shocked horror at the very public display of affection.

  Mark poured a small sample of the red wine tasting it before sliding the glass in my direction. I took a small sip and allowed the earthy wine to coat my throat. Taking the glass I placed it to Nicole’s lips as she continued to cut the vegetables. After taking a sip I plied her with kisses. I only stopped because of the audible gasp from our mothers.

  “Sorry,” I apologized before giving Mark my nod of approval. Mark poured glasses for our moms first as they seemed the most in need. My mom guzzled her glass and indicated she needed an immediate refill. I hit the play button on the IPod that sat on the docking station. Beyoncé’s voice filled the kitchen. Mark returned to gather beers for our dads, but not before putting the moves on us. Taking my hand in his he pulled me to his side gyrating his hips against me as I giggled. Mark removed the knife from Nicole’s hand adding her to our dancing mix. The three of us moved together as the rest of the family joined us in the kitchen. The dads and moms openly gawked before the kids joined our funky dance moves. My dad grabbed my mom’s hand and twirled her around to the music. The entire family including grandma Annabelle was dancing to the music in the kitchen. My sister stood nearby recording the entire scene on her cell phone smiling.

  While the parents felt leery about the success of our crazy relationship, they could see that we were really in love. They could see that our kids were not traumatized and would continue to monitor that, fully prepared to intervene if anything should change on that account. My mom took to calling Nicole our “special friend” if her name was brought up in the future. A few months after our parents were told of Nicole’s importance in our life, we asked Nicole to move in. Mark and I were so happy to have her in the house, as were the kids.

  *****

  Mark and I beamed with pride as we watched Nicole on stage. Nicole was starring in Follies of the 30’s, a production of famous dance scenes from popular movies of the 1930’s. In several of her dance numbers she was the gorgeous Ginger Rogers or the voluptuous Rita Hayworth. Mark and I marveled at the range of her dancing, from ballet to tap, she moved with such ease. After the show we were treated to the backstage antics of a hit show. Nicole had been practicing long hours perfecting her five dance numbers. During that time Mark and I sorely missed her company. To see the finished product of her hard work was absolutely breathtaking. Still dressed as Rita Hayworth, Nicole’s fellow cast members gave her hugs as all her dance sequences received standing ovations. Nicole’s smile widened when she took in the sight of us. To show our appreciation and love, I carried a dozen long stem roses and Mark carried something much more expensive. Through tears I managed to squeak out, “Nicole you were just fantastic.”

  “Thank you sweetheart,” she replied as I presented her with the roses. Nicole smothered me in kisses before plying Mark with the same affection. Her cast members looked on with curiosity at the scene unfolding. The three of us embraced as we relished that moment. Six months ago we were virtual strangers and now we were living under the same roof as a very happy family. Nicole began the unenviable task of introducing us to her cast members.

  “Gordon is the director. Gordon this is Eva and this is Mark, my partners,” she beamed. Gordon tried to control the look of shock on his face as he shook our hands.

  “Nice to meet you both. Nicole you did a fabulous job out there.”

  We made polite conversation until someone whisked Gordon away. A tall thin man that played Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in several skits extended his hand.

  “Nicholas, these are my partners I told you about, Mark and Eva.”

  He seemed impressed with Mark and I could feel Mark’s unease as he shook the man’s hand.

  “Miss Nicole goes on and on about you two. She is soooo in love,” Nicholas said with exaggeration. Nicole blushed as he spoke. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

  “We love Nicole very much,” Mark spoke up, moving closer to me.

  “She is a very lucky lady indeed. So handsome Mark and just beautiful Miss Eva.” Nicholas continued to gush over us until his partner showed up to congratulate him. Nicole leaned in to whisper some back stage gossip in my ear causing me to giggle.

  Pausing a bit Nicole added, “You look sensational Eva.”

  Resplendent in a long black bejeweled one-shoulder gown with an extensive slit that revealed lots of leg, I felt beautiful. Mark looked handsome in a black lightweight suit jacket with a white starched shirt, and a few buttons undone. I kept reaching over to touch his exposed skin throughout the show.

  “I am going to change and we can head to dinner,” Nicole informed us. Mark and I made small talk with a few of the other performers while we waited. Nicole wowed everyone in a very short red asymmetrical one-shoulder dress with sequined detailing along the hem. A round of applause went up as we left with the most beautiful creature in the production. I was happy Mark opted for a limousine as our mode of transportation. The sleek vehicle was the perfect accompaniment to our wonderfully planned evening. In the car Mark opened a bottle of champagne and we toasted our off Broadway starlet.

  Inside the restaurant it was hard to avoid the obvious stares from the other patrons. Mark had a beautiful woman on either side as we made our way to our table. Men looked on with jealousy as women looked on with curiosity. The fact that we fawned over each other the entire time worsened the curious looks.

  “You both look spectacular. I am indeed the luckiest man alive,” Mark said raising his wine glass to toast.

  “We are by far the luckiest ladies to have such a charming, attentive, and down right sexy man at our di
sposal,” I replied extending my glass.

  “I am the most fortunate woman on the planet to have you two choose me,” Nicole stammered through tears. Mark and I provided her with reassurance that we felt the same way. We went on to enjoy lots of delicious food and funny conversation about Nicole’s co-stars.

  “I thought Nicholas was going to wrestle you to the ground sweetheart.” I said laughing at my poor husband.

  “He made me nervous. I wanted to scream I am so into women that I have two of them,” Mark explained as we laughed.

  After dinner we had the chauffeur take us to a waterfront park. Nicole and I had a time managing our high heels on the grass but eventually we made it to the boardwalk. There were very few people milling around as Mark and I surrounded Nicole. Together we looked at the dazzling skyline of the city in front of us. It didn’t take long to instigate a round of kissing. Several pedestrians noticed our amorous threesome and watched. The chauffeur appeared per our request with a small video camera in his hand, standing off to the side.

  “This has been an amazing six months Nicole,” Mark said first.

  “It feels as if you have always been apart of our life,” I said secondly.

  “I love this feeling and both of you guys,” Nicole replied.

  “As much as we wish we could do things the right way. It seems we are destined to make our own path and live according to our own rules.” I explained as Mark nodded his agreement. Without additional preamble, together Mark and I dropped to one knee in front of Nicole. Mark produced the small Tiffany green box from the inside of his suit jacket pocket. The look of confusion on Nicole’s face slowly changed to recognition.

  “We know that we cannot legally marry you Nicole but if you will have us we would like to make this official in our own way,” Mark said softly.

  “Nicole Marie Fisher, will you marry us?” I asked barely able to contain my emotions. Nicole covered her mouth as tears clouded her vision. The eager shake of her head gave us the confirmation, as she was unable to produce a verbal response. We wrapped her up in our arms applying ample kisses to her tear soaked face. Mark slipped the generous diamond ring onto her finger.